Monument record MDR6983 - Hearthcote Pottery (site of), Hearthcote Road, Swadlincote

The site was undeveloped in the 1880s (1) but by 1902 the Trent Tile Works had been constructed (2). The 1920 and 1938 OS maps record the site as 'Hearthcote Pottery'. (3-4) It is shown simply as 'Works' in 1976. (5) The site is in use for light industry. There is a 19th century office building on Hearthcote Rd, but other buildings on site are recent. (6) The site was initially occupied by Hall and Boardman Ltd. They owned two collieries in Swadlincote and in 1891 began to make sewage pipes, fire bricks and chimney tops. In 1901 they separated their coal and clay interests, but by 1912 when the demand for pipes declined, they quickly put their machinery to another use, making earthenware jam pots. (7) Heathcote [sic] Pottery was formed as a limited company in 1920 in Heathcote [sic] Road and closed in 1924. It had a capital of £60,000. The works produced jam jars for Ticklers, of Grimsby, well-known as suppliers of preserves to the forces during the 1914-19 war. The firm went into voluntary liquidation in November 1927. Another firm called Heathcote Pottery Co was formed in 1930, to make sanitary earthenware and electrical porcelain. (8)